Police blotter
Deputy is accused of sexual assault
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A Columbia County sheriff's deputy was fired and arrested Wednesday following an investigation into a claim that he sexually assaulted a woman in custody.
Derek Wayne McClure, 39, was charged with sexual assault against a person in custody and was released from the Columbia County Detention Center Wednesday evening after posting a $15,100 bond, according to jailers.
On Oct. 27, a female inmate filed a complaint against McClure alleging she was sexually assaulted while being transported from her home to the jail the previous night, said Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris.
The woman was jailed and charged with disorderly conduct following a domestic dispute, Morris said.
"After a thorough and comprehensive joint investigation involving our Internal Affairs Division as well as our Criminal Investigations Division, McClure was terminated for policy violations and also arrested for sexual assault against a person in custody," Morris said.
McClure worked for the Richmond County Sheriff's Office for nearly 10 years and was hired as a Columbia County deputy in March 2008, Morris said.
Deans' runaway daughter found
The runaway daughter of Columbia County Commissioner Scott Dean has been found.
Marlin "Lilly" Dean, 17, was located in Mexico and is expected to return to her Harlem home this week, Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said.
Morris refused to provide details of where and when Marlin was found or whether she was with anyone. The teen was last seen Oct. 19 near Augusta Mall.
The Deans have seven children. Marlin is the oldest of five siblings that Scott and Renee Dean adopted from Guatemala in 2008.
A week ago, four children were removed from the Dean's Harlem home by a Division of Family and Children Services caseworker. They were later released to a family member.
Morris would not comment on why the children were removed and did not supply the name of the family member to whom they were returned.
Dean commented in an e-mail sent to media that DFCS was called in to assist in the search for Marlin.
"Since that time, allegations, insinuations and lies were leaked to the media," Dean said in the statement. "These leaks have caused irreparable harm to our family."
On Tuesday, Columbia County voters re-elected Dean to the District 4 commission seat, for which he ran unopposed.
Man sentenced for investment scam
A Martinez businessman who pled guilty to stealing about $500,000 entrusted to him to invest was sentenced to four years in federal prison on Monday.
Alvin "Al" Charles Ramsey is scheduled to turn himself over to authorities on Jan. 3 to report to prison, most likely the Federal Correction Institute in Edgefield, S.C., according to U.S. District Court documents filed this week.
Ramsey admitted to one charge of mail fraud in June. He said he used a victim's power of attorney to steal more than $400,000 from her between June 2005 and January 2008.
U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall ordered Ramsey to undergo testing and possible treatment for substance abuse while he serves his sentence. He will also spend three years on supervised release and must pay $494,000 in restitution to his victims.
Ramsey, who now lives in Florida, once ran a business called Heritage Investments Services, and he served as the tour director for the Augusta Junior Golf Magazine Tour, according to its Web site. His wife, Carla, is listed as a co-founder.
Ramsey moved his family to Florida in May after his daughters were admitted to the prestigious David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Champions Gate, Fla.
The following accounts were taken from reports from The Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Additional reports are available at www.columbia countyso.org:
Man threatens office employees
A Harlem man was arrested Wednesday after police say he threatened Columbia County tag office employees.
Edward Allen Taylor, 58, of Haverhill Drive, was charged with making terroristic threats. He was released from the Columbia County Detention Center on Wednesday after posting a $5,100 bond.
A clerk in the Appling tag office told police that at about noon Taylor came into the office at 1959 Appling-Harlem Highway to discuss a penalty on his tag. The clerk said he appeared to be agitated and kept talking about government issues.
Taylor told the clerk, "We are going to come in with our guns and I hope you have your bulletproof vest on." Another employee asked Taylor if he was making threats and he responded, "No," that he was stating facts.
Just after 1 p.m., an employee in the tag office in Evans called police because Taylor was there, irate over the previous issue in the Appling office. Police arrived and arrested Taylor.
Card illegally used to make large church donation
An Evans woman called police Tuesday after discovering someone used her new credit card to make a large donation to a Texas-based evangelical ministry.
The 41-year-old woman said that she received a call from her credit card company about a suspicious purchase on her Mastercard, which was new and had not been activated. Someone used the card to make a $4,000 online donation to John Hagee Ministries in Texas.
The credit card company stopped the unauthorized transaction.
Man charged with shoplifting tools
An employee at a Martinez building supply business told police Wednesday that a man stole three tools worth $420 by hiding them in his pants.
The employee said that at about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday a man came into Maner Building Supply, 3787 Martinez Industrial Blvd., and stole two grinders and an angle drill. The man cut the security cables off the tools and concealed them in his pants as he left the store.
The man got into a gray GMC S-10 truck and backed out of the parking lot and down the street.